MISSION STATEMENT
Writing a mission statement and defining your brand’s core values is fundamental. They are like the heartbeat and soul of your business. They should set the tone and guide every branding and marketing decision you will make. That is why I talk about them before diving into colors and images.
Did you ever write an “elevator pitch”?
Elevator Pitch
Once upon a time (I know, I am dating myself), people worked in tall office buildings. Elevator rides were a daily routine, and a chance to meet new people and network.
Imagine that in those days, by lucky chance, you found yourself in an elevator with your potential dream boss or a perfect future customer. The elevator starts, there are a few floors to go, and the hoped-for prospect of yours suddenly asks:
“So, what is it that you do?”
Could you promote yourself for the next 60 seconds? Or would your mind go blank, and the whole encounter would not be so lucky? Back then, if you were serious about networking, you had an “elevator pitch”.
A statement that had a catchy introduction, highlighted your best qualities, visions, and goals, smoothly transitioned into skills and experience, and ended with a clear indication of what kind of business interaction you are open to.
What does it have to do with the mission statement?
A lot. The elevator incident may be a story from the past, but the need for such a promotional declaration remains. The elevator pitch was often to market yourself rather than a brand, but the promo ideas remained the same. With one difference, since more people work from home, that statement needs to move to where they interact. It is usually online.
Nowadays, a brand must have a LinkedIn profile, exist on a few social media platforms, and often maintain a website. They all include the “about” or “bio” section, and this is where your mission statement should go.
It needs to be sweet, short, and in writing.
Without a mission statement, you may get to the top of the ladder and then realize it was leaning against the wrong building! ~ Dave Ramsey
Mission Statement Writing Steps
Writing objectively and accurately about your brand or yourself is not easy. People are often shy about it. Working on websites, I was hired a few times to do it as part of my design. First, this is not part of the creative aesthetics I promise to deliver; it is copywriting. But most importantly, your brand statement needs to come from you. You may hire a copywriter or an editor to proofread it, but nobody will share your passion better than you.
QUICK TIP: From the beginning, decide on your “tone of voice”. It can be friendly or informative, casual or formal, etc. It should appear in this first statement and stay consistent throughout all your future presentations. This tone of voice will become an element of your strategic branding.
When writing, follow these steps:
- Introduce your brand. State your brand name and name its activity.
- Explain what motivates you. (When connecting with people, the heart often comes before the head.)
- Specify the audience you’d like to address.
- Describe your offer. Clarify how, in your vision, it could improve the life of your audience.
- Highlight any unique traits that make your brand stand out.
Writing Statements for the Web
- Avoid too wordy sentences. Run-on sentences are often confusing, and English is not always the first language of your readers.
- Use keywords that will improve your SEO (search engine optimization).
A simple explanation of a “keyword” is a word or a phrase that your potential customer would type in the search field to find you. Note: it is not always the name of your profession. For example, someone looking for a plumber may be typing “leaking faucet” instead.
Regarding online positioning and visibility, the keyword used to be king. Algorithms change. Armed with AI, they watch direct searches and our preferences and behaviors. The keywording rules are not as straightforward as they used to be.
My advice/defense in this matter is to be clear about your intention and stay on topic. While using AI to optimize content writing becomes more and more common, I also suspect it generates a multitude of content that is very much alike.
Be a human, tell your story, remain relevant, and therefore unique.
SAMPLE MISSION STATEMENT
Let me practice what I preach and fashion a mission statement for this series. Voila:
Long Version:
Through practical advice in the Memos for Brand Builders, I help small business owners and creative professionals to bring efficiency to their brands through strategic brand design.
I’m motivated by the belief that great branding is more than just visuals; it’s about company mission and connections. When design aligns with purpose, it has the power to inspire trust, spark loyalty, and withstand changing tastes and trends. It builds consistency, which makes your business unforgettable.
This project is especially for solopreneurs, startups, and discouraged designers who are juggling multiple roles and looking for simple, effective ways to elevate their brand presence. By combining approachable insights with practical tools—including some AI resources—I aim to inspire others to design brands that are not only beautiful but also built to last.
Short Version:
Through practical advice in the Memos for Brand Builders, I empower small business owners and creatives to build consistent, strategic brands with heart. Using approachable tools and a focus on real connection with the defined target audience, I help them move from scattered visuals to purposeful design, so their brand not only looks good but also works efficiently.
Mission Statement Revisions
Test your statement on a few friends or potential customers.
- Ensure that the lingo you use in your mission statement is familiar to the people you plan to address. Representing a specific industry or activity, you may not realize how often you speak jargon that may sound vague or intimidating to an outsider.
- Check if everything is clear to readers who have never met you. You may have forgotten to mention some key details that are obvious to your family and friends, but a stranger wouldn’t know.
- Check the length of your statement. You are no longer timed by the elevator speed. However, although your website page can be, in theory, indefinitely long, to be reused on other platforms, your statement must stay within the character limits required by them. LinkedIn is generous and allows you up to 2,000 characters. From other social media, you may expect less.
Your website page can be long, but as a web designer who occasionally checks sites’ analytics, I can tell you that people who scroll through them are very “clicker happy”. Unless you deliver something VERY special, they will click away from your page in a second. Or less.
Therefore, consider preparing a couple of different versions of your statement.
BRAND TAGLINE
The one sentence that explains it all.
A tagline can describe your brand or product in a few catchy words. If you find such a statement, and it’s really good, you are a genius. Treasure it! One day, it will shine on many of your brand marketing projects.
I am always in awe when I see the best. Do you remember the statement that in 2001 introduced the first iPad to the market?
1000 Songs in Your Pocket. These five words changed the world. Even though none of us really had the 1000 songs that we liked, we felt inspired and certainly ready to buy this new device. It was just brilliant! And this is the kind of statement you are looking for.
Is your mission statement ready? Congratulations! Record all its versions, keywords, taglines, and other attributes. To have them all handy and easily available for future brand marketing projects is one of the basics of effective brand strategy. Eventually, they will form your Creative Assets Library.
I will talk about this library later in more detail. For now, just keep on saving all you create in one place. Your mission statements, taglines, and keywords certainly belong there.
And so do all the visual elements of brand appearance, which I will talk about next.